Following a blistering New York Times exposé in which five women came forward to accuse Louis C.K. of sexual harassment, his longtime collaborator Pamela Adlon has released a statement revealing she is “devastated” after her good friend released an apology saying the stories were true.
“Hi. I’m here. I have to say something. It’s so important,” the Better Things star began in a statement to Us Weekly. “My family and I are devastated and in shock after the admission of abhorrent behavior by my friend and partner, Louis C.K. I feel deep sorrow and empathy for the women who have come forward.”
“I am asking for privacy at this time for myself and my family,” Adlon added. “I am processing and grieving and hope to say more as soon as I am able.”
Adlon, 51, has a long history with the disgraced comedian. In 2006, she starred as C.K.’s wife in the ill-fated HBO sitcom Lucky Louie, which was canceled after just one season. In 2010, she became a consulting producer and also starred in his FX series Louie, where he played a fictionalized version of himself.
Most recently, Adlon and C.K. worked together on Better Things, an FX comedy in which she plays an actress raising three daughters. Both Adlon and C.K. are executive producers of the show, with the stand-up comedian directing it.
The former Californication actress referenced the rumors on KCRW’s The Business radio show just days before the New York Times published their story, saying, “It hurts to read about things that people are saying about him. All I know is that, I know about him as being my partner on a show that is the opposite of any of this kind of horrible, negative things.”
As previously reported, C.K. responded with an apology and said the stories were true after he received major backlash following the Times piece.
“These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was OK because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them,” C.K., 50, said in a statement released on Friday, November 19. “The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”
“I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it. There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for,” he added. “And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.”
As a result of the allegations and C.K.’s mea culpa, his new film I Love You, Daddy was dropped by The Orchard, the film’s movie distributor. The movie premiere that was slated for Thursday, November 9, in New York was also canceled. FX has officially cut ties with C.K., announcing he would no longer be receiving compensation for Better Things. Meanwhile, HBO has also severed ties with him by removing his past projects from their On Demand services, as well as announcing he would no longer be participating in the upcoming Night of Too Many Stars America Unites for Autism program.
